Do not overlook The Gene Taylor Blues Band

Tools

If you happen to be strolling past Slim’s in The City on Sunday, Dec. 12, you might be completely oblivious to the name on the marquee that particular night: The Gene Taylor Blues Band.

Wait. Stop. Turn around and take a closer look.

Taylor, 58, is actually one of the coolest keyboardists in rock and roll, and his backing group for the evening will be Bill Bateman, Johnny Bazz and the dynamic Dave Alvin — the great musicians he toured with in the ’80s as part of The Blasters.

The man is an R&B/rockabilly legend.

At 16, Taylor was already working with the likes of Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. In fact, he maintained such a bustling sideman career, he didn’t get around to releasing his first solo set, “Handmade,” until 1986. To date, his skills have been featured on dozens of sessions, from James Harman to Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

He now lives in Belgium, where he’s been recording with four separate outfits, so it’s a rare treat to have this barrelhouse bad boy on the West Coast again.

Don’t keep right on walking away from the club — buy a ticket and pay your respects.